Joe Dawson's Mother

In this contribution from Larry Snyder, the grandson of Joe's brother Charles, we can see a picture of  1912 Indianapolis 500 winner Joe Dawson's mother Clara Belle Crooke (maiden name). News reports of the day always stressed what a nervous person she was and how she paced in front of their home at 2828 Illinois Street in Indianapolis waiting for her son to return from the Speedway. This is recounted in my article about this great auto racing champion - Joseph Crooke Dawson - a man about which too little has been recorded. This photo captures Clara as a young adult. Clara was born August 8, 1866 at Dover Hill, Indiana and passed away on August 15, 1930 at Grace Hospital in Detroit but buried in Owosso, Michigan. She married Chase Francis Dawson in the 1880's.